Forums Forums National News Good to see the taxpayer helping the needy

What do you mean ?

Buckingham Palace doesn't belong to the queen but I guess it is a nice little cosy pad for the elderly

Yeh, and Westminster Palace which houses all the Parliamentary twots is going to have £4 billion, spent on it.

Big Ben is to have £29 million spent on it. All taxpayers money.

As DD says, they belong to the country, not individuals and as written in the BBC link, a percentage of the profits which go to the treasury from the Crown Estates, will go towards Buck. Palace.

Funny how the Government can find a few coins down the back of the couch when it suits them:

If you’re not outraged about the Queen getting £369m for ‘essential’ repairs, you’re not looking hard enough

More than 120,000 children will be homeless in Britain this Christmas – an exponential rise on the previous year’s figures.

Over a million Brits were forced into using foodbanks last year, with this figure also expected to rise in 2016.

The NHS is in £2.5bn worth of debt – with hospital chiefs warning its capacity is stretched to breaking point.

Funding for schools is being cut by 7% at a rate of £20,000 per pupil over the span of their education.

The list of cuts to public services by the current Tory government is virtually endless, and their implications are being felt across the country with the harshest cuts falling on the most vulnerable. Added to the fact that wages have stagnated, and the cost of living rising exponentially, it’s little wonder that the British public voted to try and change the status quo by voting for Brexit.

And as if the public wasn’t already angry enough, and despite there apparently being no extra money for a collapsing NHS, the government have decided to announce that they have managed to find an extra £369m down the back of the sofa for ‘essential’ repairs to the Queen’s 775-room Buckingham Palace.

In terms of public perception, the timing of this announcement could not have been worse. I would hasten a bet that even a few staunch monarchists and self-avowed ‘patriots’ are having a hard time trying to dissect their emotional response enough to try and justify this prioritisation in their own heads.

The current Tory government have perpetually used the phrase ‘tough decisions’ to justify their cuts to public services and welfare. Yet, when it comes to providing yet more handouts to our already obscenely wealthy unelected head of state; or whether it’s money for wars, or tax cuts to massive corporations who already benefit from ridiculous tax loopholes to avoid paying their fair share, the government rarely seems to find these decisions ‘tough’.

It’s not the powerless, the immigrants, or the ordinary working person who are causing this mess we’re in. It’s those who actually decide where our money is ‘best’ spent. That’s where our justifiable anger should be directed.

If you’re still having a hard time trying to justify prioritising a f**king building over the lives of over a million British citizens who are living in abject poverty, you probably need to take a long hard look and reassess your so called ‘patriotic’ British values.

Before anyone mis-interprets, 'homeless' in this instance does not mean 'on the streets' ,it means temporary accommodation, and for various reason.

On the other hand, we are pretty lucky here, the Brits continue to moan, moan, moan. Never thankful for what we do have in comparison to others.

Do you want any more to rock your conscience ?

Er, this thread is about the renovation of Buck Palace and the cost to tax-payers?

You said it.

The Queen generates over £1bn in tourism alone to the British economy every year, our royalty is recognised around the world, I doubt many people can even name another country's current royal head of house.

There are many other ways the British economy is boosted by our royal family as well.

Look at France, I used to be able to name numerous famous french buildings, I'd struggle to get up to 10 now - they have lost their identity and "greatness", is that what we want for Britain?

Britain has always been "bigger" than its actual size, we need to retain our World status or go under very fast. The Britishness of the Royal family is one of the things that keeps Britain "great" in the eyes of the world, keep them or just disappear into becoming another no-mark country (pun intended!).

Any idea on how much these multi-millionaires are willing to contribute to the renovation of their residence?

I suppose Buck House is a piece of our British History that probably raises an awful lot more than the money they will spend on it over the 10 years. I don't think the reason so many are in abject poverty and "homeless" is because they want to spend money on repairing Buck House. I wouldnt want to see any of Britains iconic buildings go to ruin. National Trust do a good job.

Represents about £12 for every tax payer. ---at that we should all be allowed one free visit on the Palace Tours--if you can afford to get to London.!

Don't know what I would spend the money on to help others--even £360m-doesn't go too far these days

oh I can hear it now "what about the potholes or the dog mess that should be fix/cleaned first" it's always me me me

if they don't fix it its "why did we let it get this far blar blar blar"

if we do fix it now its "what a waste of money"

No objection to fixing it. But the EXTREMELY wealthy people who live in it should contribute to the cost.

Palemoon, did you read the link you posted ? She is contributing to the costs.

It has already been stated, the Queen does not own the property, and neither have all other Royal Heads of Sate since it has been the Official Residence and Administration Headquarters since 1837. She has to live there, that's her job, even though she has her own home elsewhere.

If you rent a property, do you pay for the new roof ?

She pays taxes, she employs almost 200 staff of which have 200 bedrooms. and as an alternative you could have a Trump or Putin sitting in there if we didn't have a Queen, the building would still have to be maintained but Trump and Putin wouldn't be paying, because it wouldn't belong to them.

DO you think Obama should have paid for the upkeep of the Whitehouse ? Same difference. President currently has 1,869 employees !

Does that make sense, or is it still this idea that the Queen costs the tax payer too much money. I really feel that rather than listening to activist in such instances, it is far better to do ones own 'finding out' instead of being led like sheep by leaders of anti monarchy, anti government, anti religion, anti everything....apart from wanting to dictate to everyone else what they think we should all have, with the maximum amount of unrest and disruption included... commonly known as anarchists. ...